Will face polls alone if others also do it: O Panneerselvam

Chennai: Taunted by the Congress to face the coming Lok Sabha elections alone, the AIADMK on Wednesday hit back saying the party was strong and it was ready to take up the challenge of fighting the polls alone provided other parties in Tamil Nadu also go without allies.

Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam rose to proclaim his party's stout status after the Congress Legislature Party leader K R Ramasamy teased the AIADMK saying the ruling party must indulge in some self-assessment to know its true strength post-Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK had not faced any major electoral test after her demise in 2016 and suffered defeat in the only poll post-Jayalithaa poll-the RK Nagar Assembly by-poll in December 2017 to fill the vacancy caused by her death, said the CLP chief before throwing his challenge that the AIADMK should prove its strength by facing elections without allies.

He also made some remarks that suggested that the AIADMK was under some sort of pressure or problem regarding its desire to forge alliance with the BJP. Sharply reacting, OPS said the AIADMK as a party and the government it heads in Tamil Nadu "are both pretty strong".

CLP chief Ramasamy warned that the AIADMK would find no allies if it chose to align with the BJP. He also exuded confidence that the Congress would storm back to power in the coming LS polls.

To this OPS retorted saying that after suffering the 'blow' dealt by DMK founder Annadurai in unseating the Congress government in the state in the 1967 Assembly elections, the national party has been riding 'piggy-back' on one or the other of the two Dravidian majors-the AIADMK or the DMK-to face the elections.

At this point, School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan rose to point out that the AIADMK had indeed won absolute majority going it alone in the state elections. Joining in, Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani demanded to know if the Congress could attempt such a thing-going it alone in elections.

Later, in an apparent reference to the Lok Sabha polls, OPS said, "We are prepared to face elections all alone if others also do so." He reiterated his party is strongly placed in Tamil Nadu "even after Amma".

OPS, who is also the AIADMK party coordinator, had recently stated that his party was holding talks with "some national and regional parties" for forging alliance for the coming LS polls.